The managing director of Bellary Mining Corporation and Mr Janardhana Reddy’s brother-in-law, has also been arrested.
Official sources said the two were arrested this morning in Bellary. A CBI team searched Janardhan Reddy’s house in Bellary in the wee hours and seized some documents from his residence. Sleuths also raided the premises of Srinivas Reddy in Bellary and Bangalore.
They were arrested after raids on his premises in an illegal mining case. The CBI will produce him before a special court in Hyderabad at 3 pm today. He has been arrested on charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating. Both were arrested under a FIR filed in 2009. The officials seized several incriminating documents during the raids. The seized articles include a laptop, mobile phone, four registers, a diary and a personal helicopter of Janardhana Reddy.
Obulapuram Minining Company is based in Andhra Pradesh with a mining lease in Ananthapur district along the Karnataka border. Another team of CBI officials also conducted raids at ‘Parijatha’, the residence of Janardhan Reddy in Bangalore.
Mr Reddy, who was a minister in the previous B.S. Yeddyurappa government, was among those indicted by the Lokayukta report on illegal mining. The Lokayukta submitted its report to the government on 27th July.
There are allegations of irregularities in the mining activities of OMC which is owned by the brothers – G. Karunakara Reddy, G. Janardhana Reddy and G. Somashekara Reddy.
The CBI team has taken Janardhan Reddy and Srinivas Reddy to Hyderabad for further questioning. The probe agency’s action comes a day after Reddy’s associate and former Karnataka minister B. Sreeramulu resigned from his assembly seat, protesting against the BJP’s denial to give him ministerial berth and also keeping Bellary Reddy brothers out of the ministry.
